That's why Kade Klemke told his group they had "nothing to lose". He told them "don’t ever drop your head. We’ve just got to keep fighting and fighting".

Four quarters of football later, the Demons booked their ticket to a grand final play-off with a thrilling nine-point win over Sydney University at Blacktown International Sportspark on Saturday.

The 15.13 (103) to 14.10 (94) triumph sets Canberra on a collision course with the Sydney Swans in next Saturday's semi-final at the same venue.

NEAFL Rising Star Mitch Maguire led the way with a staggering 45 disposals and 10 tackles to set up the club's first finals win - a far cry from how they finished the regular season.

Maguire says a four-game skid allowed the Demons to resume the role of the underdog - a role they played expertly for much of the year given they started with two wins from their opening six games - and he relished it.

"He was fantastic. Our mids really had to stand up and I think Mitch wasn’t happy with his last four weeks," Klemke said.

"He was good last week, but the previous weeks he was a little bit out of form and he really wanted to stand up for the group, and he did that to a tee. He really led our midfield."

But he wasn't alone. Jarrod Osborne, Lucas Meline and Isaac Taylor were all revelations through the middle.

Canberra defied history by becoming the NEAFL's first sixth-placed side to progress past the elimination final stage on the back of their relentless pressure.

Two weeks after being handed a humbling 47-point loss at the hands of the Students, Canberra could hear Sydney University's footsteps getting louder after the hosts piled on seven goals in the second term.

"In the past four weeks when sides started to kick a couple of goals in a row, we started to drop our heads," Klemke said.

"I said to the group ‘we’ve got nothing to lose today, don’t ever drop your head. We’ve just got to keep fighting and fighting’. The boys did it perfectly, we got ourselves back into it.

"There’s things we’ve still got to work on which is great. That’s what won us the game, I’m really proud of the boys, they listened and did it to a tee."

Rather than folding under pressure, the Demons rose. While the Students again clawed their way back, their last-ditch efforts went wide and Canberra held on to claim an historic win.

Klemke is adamant the job is not done. When it comes to beating Sydney, he is confident they've got it in them. Canberra led the Swans by 23 points before being overrun in a thriller three weeks ago.

If the Demons needed a further boost, they won't have to look too hard. Tom Faul (hamstring) and ruckman Cameron Milne (concussion) could come back into the reckoning for selection against Sydney should they pass fitness tests this week.

"We’re really happy but we understand now we’ve got another week to go," Klemke said.

"We’ve got a good opportunity against the Swans, we knew going into the finals if we get it right we can match it with any team, and that’s the same against the Swans.

"We weren’t that happy with how we played against Swans last time, but if we can play like we did [on Saturday] we can match it with them."

The Aspley Hornets have booked a date with minor premiers Southport in the second semi-final following their 48-point win over the Brisbane Lions at Graham Road.

AT A GLANCE

NEAFL elimination final -

SYDNEY UNIVERSITY 2.1 4.2 11.5 14.10 (94)
CANBERRA DEMONS 5.7 8.9 13.10 15.13 (103)

Goals: Sydney University: J. Derickx 3, N. Reinhard 2, Z. O’Brien 2, T. Young, C. Bird, T. Davies, A. Lucy, N. Foster, D. Bonney, S. Tagliabue. Canberra: H. Carr 3, A. Bruce 2, B. Fulford, M. Hardie, A. Smout, R. Stevens, L. Meline, J. Osborne, C. Owen-Auburn, A. Paech, J. Powell, G. Richardson.

Best: Sydney University: C. Bird, T. Barton, L. Stevenson, W. Sierakowski, A. Gulden, A. Day. Canberra: M. Maguire, L. Meline, T. Highmore, K. Klemke, H. Carr, S. Martyn.